Living Consciously

By Pamela J. Wells
Published: January 23, 2012

Most people live life unconsciously. Their mind and emotions drive everything that they do and do not do. They go through a continuous loop of repeated thoughts, behaviors, and motions (movements) every day that revolve around negativity, and faulty and false perceptions of themselves and others, which effects every aspect of their life—how they communicate with others, the quality of their relationships, the actions they take or do not take every day.

When you are living unconsciously it is easy for you to be distracted by things that take you away from what you really want to change or do. Every aspect of your life affects other aspects of your life, so when there is one thing that you’re not taking care of, you get distracted easily, you find yourself repeating the same old patterns of behavior, and you feel powerless to change.

Always remember that your mind is your enabler, enabling you to continuously repeat bad habits and behavior, causing you to avoid making positive choices in your life. Instead of living consciously in each moment, we project our past regrets and disappointments into the future by keeping the past active in our mind. When you become aware of your faulty and false perceptions and start living your life consciously in each moment, instead of in the past and the future, you are able to ultimately change your life from one that is unpleasant and stressful to one that is filled with joy and peace.

           Thich Nhat Hanh said that, "Life is available only in the here and now, the 

           present moment," and he also quoted the Buddha, "The past is already gone,
           the future is not yet here. There's only one moment for you to live, and that is
           the present moment." 

When you find yourself or catch yourself caught-up in that endless cycle of repeated negative thinking, behavior, or avoidance, stop what you are doing and take a moment to reflect on what you do want, and then be still and quiet. When you are still and quiet, no mental chatter, you will be overcome with a feeling of serenity, peace and calm. Thoughts may popup, in an attempt to distract you, but you bring yourself back to that inner stillness and quiet mind. You continue doing this every chance you get; especially, when you catch yourself repeating that old pattern of negative thinking and behavior, which is present-moment-past, projected into the future.

The rewards of being present, being conscious and aware in each and every moment, taking positive action when action is needed, and taking time to silence the mind and be still, are so great, that once you start to feel the peaceful effects of it, just the thought of anything else, of staying stuck, of unconsciousness, of non-presence, of negative action, inaction, or avoidance is unimaginable and highly undesirable.

Be in the moment. Live your life in each and ever moment, fully present in everything you do. Take time every day to quiet your mind, whether it is through meditation or just being in nature. The more that you are able to do this, the more at peace you will be when you are alone and when you are in the presence of others. You will begin to see your relationships improving with your family and others, resulting in better communication, more openness, and less stress and tension; and, you will also find that you are able to think more clearly and make better choices in your life.

Copyright © 2012 Pamela J. Wells. All Rights Reserved

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.